Radiopharmaceuticals are radioactive compounds which may be utilized for diagnosis and therapeutic purposes by administering them to a patient and then monitoring via specific imaging devices. Radiopharmaceuticals which emit radiation with short path length, for example beta radiation, are used for therapy due to their characteristic of being able to lose all their energy over a very short distance; therefore, they can cause destruction of tumor cells without harming adjacent normal cells. Therapeutic radiopharmaceuticals have higher energy and stay longer in the body than other radiopharmaceuticals for increasing treatment efficiency.
Several platforms have been developed for delivery of beta radiation by encapsulating radiopharmaceuticals in different nanocarriers, for example, dendrimers to form nano-radiopharmaceuticals. Dendrimers are distinct nanostructures with different surface groups which can be used for engineering interactions between the radiopharmaceuticals and the dendrimers. Dendrimers are appropriate candidates for encapsulating metal particles, for example radioisotopes because they are structurally and chemically well-defined templates and robust stabilizers.
However, high cost of preparation, low stability, low purity, and high side effects are some of the biggest challenges in preparing nano-radiopharmaceuticals; therefore, there is a need in the art for a simple and efficient method for preparing nano-radiopharmaceuticals with high purity and high stability. Furthermore, there is a need in the art to prepare radiopharmaceuticals with minimum leakage to other organs and side effects.